


The Ultimate Holiday Display

by PrincessaKyla



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bored Tony Stark, Christmas Decorations, Genius Tony Stark, Other, afab tony stark, background mention of Pepper as their third partner, giant nerds in love, toni is nonbinary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 07:14:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27467011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessaKyla/pseuds/PrincessaKyla
Summary: Steve returns from a two day trip to find his spouse in the middle of a holiday decorating extravaganza.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Kudos: 8
Collections: Fall 2020 Bringing Food to the Lab Seasonal Bingo





	The Ultimate Holiday Display

**Author's Note:**

> AFAB!Toni Stark because I can, y'all
> 
> This work was written as a fill for the Fall 2020 Bringing Food to the Lab discord server's Seasonal Bingo, filling the square "decorating"

Steve tried not to leave his lovely spouse alone very often. When Toni was alone, things tended to get massively out of hand in all sorts of entirely unpredictable ways, the way only their genius mind could manage. Not that Steve could ever get very angry. All they had to do was bat their big bambi eyes at him and he was melted entirely. 

Even knowing that, Steve was...anxious to see what his beloved genius had gotten up to while he was away on an emergency call. He pulled up in front of the Malibu house half expecting to see the fire department, Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy, all simultaneously comforting and chewing out a distraught Toni. What greeted him was, quite possibly, worse.

The front of the house looked like Halloween, Thanksgiving, the whole fall season, and Christmas had had an all out war. 

Without even getting out of the car, he could see the Halloween inflatables, half alive, leaning back against the house, and lights of every possible color trailed across the yard. Steve would bet the current cash contents of his wallet that Toni hadn’t noticed they were trailing lights from some giant ball of knotted up strings of them. Signs and boxes littered the yard, as well as some things covered by large sheets. A few were easily recognizable as the Christmas animatronics, namely the camel and three wise men, but the others were mysteries, and Steve would bet that they were newly minted things.

He got out of the car, closing the door gently so as not to startle Toni if they were doing something dangerous within hearing range. Looking around, he didn’t see them on the roof or a ladder anywhere in his sight line, which was a good sign they were safe on the ground. Now if only he could find them.

“Toni?” he called out.

No answer.

Steve sighed. “Where have you disappeared to, little bird?” he muttered. He began picking his way through the things scattered about their yard, noting with some interest that Toni really had pulled out absolutely everything, apparently. The Halloween gravestones, decorated with family and friends’ names, were still pegged into the ground where they had placed them at the end of September, while the child sized vampire animatronic that sprang from its coffin when someone stepped on the button was half tucked into its storage bin that had tipped over on its side. Meanwhile, their Thanksgiving decor, which Steve rarely agreed to put up, was spilling from the bin it lived in, mimicking the usual presentation of the cornucopia he could just see at the bottom of it. An inflatable pair of turkeys were folded into their box, and Toni’s wreaths of fall leaves and pinecones and plaid ribbons nestled in close. Steve carefully tipped the box upright and made sure everything was nestled inside before clicking the lid back on and locking the handles. One less box for him and Toni to worry about later. Christmas seemed to be, mostly, contained, excluding the lights and the animatronics, which lived in their own compartment of the garage anyway. 

“Oh! Steve! You’re home!” Toni sounded incredibly surprised, but happy, to see him as they came out the front door, depositing a now detangled pile of lights on top of one of the closed storage bins.

“Yeah, I am,” he said, chuckling. He pulled them into a hug, kissing them sweetly. “And I see you’ve been busy.”

The petite mechanic had the good grace to blush. “I got lonely,” they pouted. Their hair was falling out of its braid, and Steve was fighting the urge to stare down their cleavage, which was threatening to spill out of their worn out tank top. They smoothed the collar and shoulders of his shirt. “You were gone so long.”

“I was gone for two days.”

“Two days where you weren’t here to entertain me,” they whined. “And had JARVIS lock me out of my armor work station.”

“You are going to give yourself myopia working on that joint, babe. You needed a break.”

Toni just huffed and didn’t argue, knowing better than to try. Steve knew which ways to shut them up, and after two days apart, he was far more likely to resort to methods that would derail the rest of their plans for the day. “Yes, well, I decided to refocus my energy, and now have everything out to do the Christmas decor. I was  _ hoping _ to surprise you entirely, but now you’ve seen the mess, so you know I’m doing something. Nevermind. Just grab your luggage and go inside,  _ don’t _ peek.”

Steve raised an eyebrow, amused. “Oh that’s how it’s gonna be, huh?”

“Mhm.”

“I see. And if I don’t listen?” His tone dipped into the suggestive, pulling them closer.

“I will call Pepper and she will make sure you regret it.”

Steve laughed. “Ouch. Big guns, there, threatening me with our girlfriend.”

Toni raised their chin. “It’s a serious matter. So go go go.” They ushered Steve to gather his bags and then head into the house.

And thus began the hours of waiting. Steve managed to waste some time by taking a shower, tossing his dirty clothes in the hamper, and making himself some coffee. But then he realized that, for once, he didn’t have anything to do. Most of his current projects were tied up in various ways, waiting for things from other people, and not in any way he could reasonably hurry along. He supposed he could call Sam, and see where they were in getting approval from the VA for new therapy centers in rural areas, but they’d talked about it only a few days ago and Sam had promised to update him as soon as he got the information on the project proposal process. 

Feeling lost, he tried to peek out the windows.

They went dark.

“Toni has asked me not to let you peek,” JARVIS announced. “And to record how many times you attempt it.”

“They really want to surprise me huh?”

“Indeed, sir. Shall I assist you in finding some entertainment while they are working?”

“No thanks, J. I’ll just head for my studio. Unless they’re doing something on the cliff face and my windows are blocked?” he asked, only half joking.

“The cliffside remains clear. For now.” JARVIS didn’t sound convinced that it would  _ remain _ clear, and Steve didn’t blame him. Toni seemed to really have a bee in their bonnet over the holiday decor for the year and far be it from either of them to stop the madness. Pepper might stand a chance, but Steve didn’t want to bother her when she was so busy with end of quarter business at Stark Industries. Better to let Toni do what they wanted.

Decided for the moment, Steve went to his studio and settled at his drawing table, clicking on the projected image of Toni he was working from. For a while, he was content to work in details on his pencil sketch of them, including fussing with the shading. But it didn’t hold his attention for long before he was restless again.

So he moved to the movie room and had Jarvis play whatever was next on his “Cultural Education” list that Toni and the others had compiled for him. He’d made it to the tail end of the sixties, now, and while he’d enjoyed a lot of the decade so far, including the Beatles’ movies and  _ Breakfast at Tiffany’s _ , today’s pick --  _ Night of the Living Dead _ \-- wasn’t really his cup of tea. And besides, watching horror movies after Halloween seemed just plain wrong now that he had choices for when to watch movies. But he finished the movie anyway, because what else was he gonna do?

Then began the montage-esque shifting between activities that made Steve feel like he was in one of the eighties movies Toni had shown him when they first started dating.

He picked up a book but didn’t get very far before he was putting it down to pick up the tv remote and flip aimlessly through the channels for a while. Then it was a dance party for one with JARVIS selecting the music, often showing him a video to go along with whatever song was playing. Everything from concert footage to film clips to music videos played, and several made Steve smile a little. That held his attention for a while before he left it to stare aimlessly into the refrigerator and pantry, hoping for some inspiration to strike. If he couldn’t be with Toni, he could definitely make them a nice meal and a dessert with JARVIS’ help. But the pantry was pretty empty of any of the things Steve was familiar with using, and try though he might, JARVIS just couldn’t make any suggestions of recipes that sounded like something Steve wanted to try that evening. He settled for ordering take out to be delivered in a few hours, including the creme brulee Toni adored. That ate up a few minutes. 

Resigned to just be bored for a while, Steve flopped onto the couch and let JARVIS play some television that didn’t matter very much. Knowing Steve appreciated art, JARVIS started up a body art competition series. Steve, somewhat amazed, wondered if Toni and Pepper would sit for him to try something like that on them. “Hey, JARVIS,” he said. “Can you run a search for basic supplies for body painting and special effects makeup, then put in an order for me?”

“Certainly, Captain Rogers. Would you prefer a more limited selection to get a taste for it, or a wider range for exploration?”

Steve considered and decided. “A wider range. Thank you.”

“Of course.”

An episode or two in, Steve must have fallen asleep, because he woke to Toni’s gentle hair pets and murmurs of his name. “Stevie...wake up, huh?”

“Mmm...time’s it?”

“A little after seven. Dinner’s here, keeping warm in the oven. But I thought you might like to see what I’ve been up to all day before we eat?” Toni smiled gently, still petting his hair. “You’re so cute when you sleep, you know that? I like watching you. You get this little smile sometimes, and you relax a lot more…”

Steve gently kissed their hand. “I was dreaming about you, baby.” He smiled. “And I would love to see what you’ve been up to.”

Excitedly, Toni hopped up and held out both hands to him to lead him outside. At the door, they paused. “Close your eyes.”

“Oookay…” Steve closed them, smiling slightly. Toni took his hands and carefully led him out the door, murmuring instructions to him as they got him positioned just so in the front drive.

“Now, open.”

Steve opened his eyes and felt his jaw drop. It was a wonderland in front of their house. Lights lined the long drive as far out as he could see, in various arrangements and animated displays. Closer to the house, the three wise men and their camel had been joined by the Heavenly Host and a nativity scene with lifelike looking animals, Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. “Baby…” He was at a loss for words. “Baby you did all of this yourself?”

Toni blushed and shrugged. “Yeah...I mean the animatronics have been in the works for a while but I did most of them in the last couple of days. It’s no big deal.”

“No big deal? Baby, this is...this is incredible. I am so amazed and proud of you.” He pulled them in for a kiss, cradling their cheek gently as his other arm wrapped around their waist.

“I’m glad you like it, sugar,” Toni said. “Merry Christmas, two months early.”

“Merry Christmas, darling.”


End file.
